Victories and Hardships
by veronica.toon.7
Summary: AU SP: Zira knew of her king's harsh and tyrannical ways, to her and to their son, but she never knew that she would see the day when light would return back into their lives until the true king returned, but will her nephew help to show her how to accept her life now? Set where Zira and the Outlanders were never exiled and Nuka, Kovu and Vitani are to be raised in the Pridelands.
**Set in an alternate Simba's Pride: Zira knew of her king's harsh and tyrannical ways, but she never knew that she would see the day when light would return back into her life until the true king returned, but will her nephew help to show her how to accept her life now? This is set where Zira and the Outlanders are part of the pride and Nuka, Kovu and Vitani are destined to be raised up alongside Kiara.**

 **I own nothing. The Lion King 2 and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.**

 **Enjoy the story!**

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The sun rose softly over the horizon, gently scattering its rays over the savanna sky and grassland. From out of the tall grass rose up a great, majestic kopje. At the tip of the great rock structure, the sun's light appeared to cause the stone to be aglow in glorious, golden light.

The Prideland's Pride Rock. Home of the lion pride and the rulers of the Pridelands. It's current ruler was the benevolent king Simba, alongside his lovely and gentle wife, queen Nala. Until recently, they had come to rule over these fertile and lush lands. It was only some time before though when the lands had been dead, barren and grey, ruled by Simba's evil uncle Scar who had seized power through deceit and hatred.

Scar. Younger brother of Mufasa, Simba's father. He had murdered his brother and exiled Simba before taking the throne and allowing the hyenas in. He had forced the lionesses to over-hunt, resulting in many of the herd leaving and the Circle of Life being thrown off balance. It had seemed hopeless of ever getting out of this situation they were in till one day, the previously thought dead prince had returned. He had overthrown his uncle and restored the Pridelands to its brighter, glorious state.

Yet still some parts still needed healing more than others.

One such, perhaps the neediest of all the others, was Scar's own former queen and mate. Fur hued a cool tan, strong muscles made for hunting, striking ruby eyes. The thing that set her off from most of the lionesses in the pride were two things, a slightly darker dorsal stripe coming down from her forehead and a round notch cut into her left ear. Blood crusted the nick, indicating that it had been made only recently.

A shiver passed through her body as the experience of the memory seemed to course through her again. She could still recall in vivid detail his face. His expression. His burning, hate-filled eyes. Her muscles tensed and she felt paralyzed when _his_ clawed paw, swiping at her face, but only just missing and hitting her ear instead. The terrified screams of their, no, her son as his vision of her collapsing down onto the stone floor became blurred with the tears streaming down his face.

Her eyes widened as reality hit her brain once more. She was broken out of her stupor by the calls of her son. Eyes darted over to the cub beside her. Her eyes stared back, set in a mixture of her and his fur. His father's lanky figure and black mane and armpits had made it to him, but thankfully not his spirit. Nuka, as his father had odiously called him, was different from his father in almost every way. Despite having the name 'trash' given to him at birth, Nuka hadn't let it bother him and instead tried to keep happy and proud of who he was.

She then heard the sound of footsteps entering the den and turned her head around to see the new king himself coming towards her. Nuka darted towards her. Despite being the king's cousin and admired him, he held some fear of him too. Fear that because he was the new king, he would try to purge the pride of any remains of Scar. It wasn't so much of cruelty as it was tradition, 'new king kills old cubs', even if they were family. Still if the king even dare lift a claw on her son she'd attack him instantly.

Simba was very much like his father. He had all his physical traits, plus dark brown ear rims inherited from his mother. He was very wise, yet he still had ways to go to being a king. She straightened up and dipped her head down in respect for her nephew.

"Zira," he greeted softly.

"Your highness," she replied.

"I see you have my cousin along with you." He nodded at the younger lion, "Hello Nuka," he greeted.

"H-Hello sir," he squeaked back. Simba sighed and shook his head.

"Please Nuka. We've been over this before. Call me Simba, I'm your cousin," he said.

"Okay, Simba sir," Nuka said, getting a hint of teasing determination in his voice. Simba dipped his head in defeat while Nuka giggled a bit and even the corners of Zira's mouth quirked up a bit.

"Is getting annoyed by my son the only reason why you're here, _dear nephew_. If so, please leave now and let me brood," she said. Simba exhaled loudly again and lifted his head up more to address her face-to-face.

"You know that's not the reason, _dear auntie_." Zira eyes narrowed for a second before she rolled them over to Nuka.

"Son, please go outside and let the adults talk. Alone," she said. Nuka obediently nodded and ran out of the den, leaving the aunt and nephew alone to talk. As soon as the cub's tail was out of sight, Zira threw her gaze back at him, beating him to the point.

"Why are you here? Don't you think that you should keep away from your uncle's wife and his child in case they just might have the same evil as he did," she growled at him. His expression remained as still as it had been. Actually, if anything, it softened a bit.

"Actually no. I've actually gone over with Nala and the rest of the pride and we're prepared to fully welcome you and your children into our home if you will only accept your position as part of the pride." Zira looked shocked up at him, her maw even dropping down a bit, but the reaction only lasted a second before she closed her eyes and then opened them again and narrowed them up at him.

"Well! I... H-how do you know I have more than one cub," she fiercely snarled up at him. He simply dipped his head, eyes closed.

"You didn't deny it," he replied. Zira's ears and head drooped. He was right. In an attempt to gain Scar's favor for once, she had found another lion and had gotten pregnant, hoping the new cubs that were still growing in her stomach would be healthy enough to be deemed his heir. But now with Scar gone, Zira had been considering an abortion to rid and cleanse herself of any lingering things done to avoid Scar's wrath.

"How long have you've known," she asked. Her pregnancy had been mostly well hidden, or so she had thought. She'd never told anyone, not even Nuka knew, but perhaps he had let slip out of his mouth of his mother's swollen stomach to the rest of the pride? She didn't know, but if the king knew then probably everyone else knew and there was no use now hiding it. Her body shifted to her side, revealing in the dim light an overly-large abdomen where a cub or two grew, comforted by the steady beat of her heart until it was time for them to come out.

"It was more of a guess, considering you never leave here and you've been asking for bigger portions from the hunts," he replied. Her head only dipped down more.

She flinched when she felt his paw touch her shoulder and she quickly lifted her head up, ready to snarl at him for even daring to touch her, but the straight expression on his face caused her worlds to stick and die in her throat.

"Zira, I know you might not like me, after all, I did kill your son's father, your mate, my uncle, but just because you may assume that I am bad, doesn't mean I'm not going to try to convince you otherwise." He took a moment to take a deep breath and the he continued. "I'm more than willing to accept you as party of my family and allow you, your son and your unborn to stay here, but only if you'll accept the offer. I'm not going to force you, but I am urging you to at least consider it."

He left shortly after that, leaving Zira alone again in the cave. Nuka came back, but only more a brief moment to explain to her that his aunt Sarabi had offered to spend the afternoon with him. Zira had no qualms with the previous queen before her, her calm, wise demeanor was a fine attribute that she hoped her son may rub off on someday.

She felt her cubs kicking inside her stomach. Slowly, and for the first time since Scar died, her paw reached down and pressed lightly onto her bulging abdomen. Almost instantly did she feel the little movements of the unborn cubs inside her responding. She let out a deep sigh. The thoughts of new cubs crossed her mind, living happily and healthy with her, their big brother and their extended family.

For the first time in months, she allowed a smile grace her lips as she let these happy thoughts flow through her mind. Perhaps she wouldn't consider an abortion, maybe she would finally find her own place, her own niche, in the pride.

Maybe she would finally find what she had been searching for all her life. Peace and reassurance.

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 **Had this idea for quite awhile. I actually wonder if something similar to this really did happen at some point. The Lion Guard might reveal some of the Outlander cub's origins when it's their time to make their appearances, but for now we can only wait, hope and theorize the possibilities until the day comes. And yes, Zira is pregnant with Kovu and Vitani. Even if the websites online say that the two and Nuka are Scar's descendants, we can still theorize how or disbelieve it anyways. So hence my theory that Kovu and Vitani are full siblings with their father not being Scar, but a rogue lion instead.**

 **Thanks for reading. Please leave a review with some feedback, it's always appreciated, and have a wonderful day. Sincerely, v.t.7**


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